In continuing to view possible areas of Christianity
where sociology may make contributions of a positive
and practical nature, it would seem obvious to mention the mission field. Upon incomplete survey it could
be pointed out that in at least two areas, sociology has
a contribution to make.

Within recent years, the army has shown through
a series of studies that there are certain factors which
are consistent in all "fighters" whereas "non-fighters"
tend to be deficient in these characteristics. Many of
these variables center in concepts of home life, civilian
roles and class. These studies have pointed out that
the ability to adjust to crisis situations and withstand
varying types of stress in a new environment largely
depends upon previously developed attitudes and behavioral patterns.

It would seem that mission boards have a problem
comparable to that of the army. Whereas the armed
forces are concerned with maximizing the number of
soldiers who actually fight in combat, the mission board,
attempts to increase the number of missionaries who
return to the field after a first term. An interdisciplinary team composed of sociologists and psychologists
might provide some knowledge which would allow for
more careful selection of missionary candidates.

Anthropologists have stressed the need the missionary has of knowing the culture in order to work in it.
Until such knowledge is gained or, as is often the case,
if internalization of the culture should never be able
to be adequately achieved, the missionary may be living in a cultural and organizational vacuum. What type
of individual is best able to tolerate such a condition?
Perhaps it would be possible to maintain a suitably
familiar cultural climate with some form of adequate
organization or community for the missionary having
a low adaptive potential. In this way, such individuals
could be brought more slowly into the socialization
process, thereby eliminating the shock of
a cultural
vacuum.

The second area of study would have to do with the
relationship of organization and missionary endeavor
in a society. The field worker should not expect to
find in other societies the same organizational ability
characteristic of America. This has been clearly point
ed out in a recent book.* What has been referred to
as amoral familism tends to pervade most backward
societies. The concept refers to an attitude requiring
immediate concern for the individual and his family
while neglecting the community and the need for mutual organization to meet its needs. In the particular
society studied, religion was primarily manifest in an
individualistic form with little concern for church
forms. This seems a profitable point for further study
since the missionary would approach a society with an
individualistic form of religion in a different manner
from one where there was a strong ecclesiastical organization.

Nor can the missionary neglect the effects which
attempts to establish a church in an amoral familist
society will have. There are mechanisms built into
the church organization which seem to stimulate organizational growth in secular agencies. Study in this
area should be of great profit. Religion, therefore,
seems to have the property of centering the individual's interests in values and activities outside of himself and his family. This development of loyalties to
phenomena outside of the immediate reference area
requires the formation of organization. Though such
results might be of benefit to the missionary, he should
beware of an unanticipated consequence. Once an organizational mechanism is established, whether of a
religious or secular nature, it may be turned to purposes other than those for which it was originally designed. History offers many examples of such displacement of ends. The reasons for them, however,
are far from being understood.

Whether the missionary could ever be expected to
apply such organizational information is a valid question. Nevertheless, science exists for the purpose of
understanding the phenomena with which it is concerned and, for sociologists, this includes the relationship of organization and religion.